I first Leadership And Motivation it in Kilsyth eleven years ago, when speaking to a youth group. I have heard it in the prison, and while sitting on Children's Panel hearings.
"I have low self-esteem." "Who told you that?" I asked. "My Social Worker," was the reply.
We have to be careful what we say to people. It can have a highly negative affect.
Leaders must aim to be positive, encouraging, seeking to build people up, of course without ignoring reality.
Moses sent out twelve spies to check out the Promised Land, and ten came back reporting that the inhabitants were like giants, and that we were like grasshoppers in our own eyes. The text of what actually happened and the report of their expedition can be found at Numbers Chapter 13 in the Old Testament.
Some would suggest these ten men had low self-esteem. Take the land? No, we cannot do that!
Had they forgotten the Passover, the Red Sea deliverance, the fresh water and manna, and the Ten Commandments, and the powerful leadership of Moses?
When people forget what Almighty God has done in the past, and start assessing current situations through their own eyes, it can appear bleak.
Two of the spies brought back samples of fruit from the Promised Land following their forty day expedition and they spoke very differently. "We can go up and take the land. We can do it."
Joshua and Caleb were positive. They seemed to know what God was doing and with the help of God they would accomplish this difficult task. They were proved right.
Low self-esteem did not cloud their vision nor diminish their ambition. Low self-esteem or even being told you have low self-esteem can do that to a person.
Joshua was Moses' faithful assistant, and succeeded to the leadership of the people, and Caleb followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.
Joshua had been with Moses throughout the wilderness journey. He must have learned a lot during that informative apprenticeship.
It is said that low self-esteem is common among losers! These thoughts are anathema in the Kingdom of God.
Joshua proved to be an effective and successful leader. He sowed and he reaped.
What leaders say and do has greater impact than we sometimes realise and recognise.
Sandy Shaw
Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children's Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.
He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled Us Senator Term Length from Of Republicans In The House Of Representatives on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.
His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.
Sandy Shaw
sandyshaw63@yahoo.com
